E.T., is that you – or should I be scared?

Hmmmm, should I embrace that camera or fear it? COURTESY OF DALE TERRIEN

Q. Hi Honk. There is a unique camera that has been added to the HOV exit from the southbound 5 freeway to Barranca Parkway in Irvine. Anchored by concrete blocks, it appears to be temporary. It isn't pointed down the length of the off-ramp or aimed at license plates; instead, it is aimed directly into the passenger compartment. It's a little creepy, because it looks like a head with two eyes staring at you. What on earth are they doing?

– Dale Terrien, Irvine

A.A test.

At times, our freeway system is a lab for new gadgets.

A firm, Vehicle Occupancy Detection, pulled a permit from Caltrans so it could test its equipment, said Dave Richardson, a spokesman for the state agency.

The camera – which looks like a cross between E.T. and a robot – uses two infrared beams and algorithms to detect skin and figure out how many people are in a vehicle. The faces are blanked out, ostensibly to lessen the Big Brother feel.

In the future, the company will likely approach government agencies to see if they will buy the technology.

Toll roads might use the cameras to determine if a car has the required three passengers to pass through for free, for example. Or Caltrans might be interested in using the cameras to help count vehicles’ travelers to determine the success of carpool lanes instead of sticking workers on overpasses who simply just count away.

Q. Honk: Here's one for you – at the northbound entrance to the I-5 freeway at Alicia Parkway, there is the standard two-lane setup on the ramp with a sign saying "2 cars per green light" by the meter. Pretty standard stuff. The odd thing is that in addition to the usual red and green lights, there is also a yellow one. What function is the yellow light?

– Robert Scott, Mission Viejo

A.In short, to keep the feds happy.

When a freeway ramp meter allows more than one vehicle to go at a time in one lane, federal guidelines call for a yellow light.

It is meant to tell the driver in the third vehicle to prepare to stop for the red. Maybe that third driver can’t see around a semi to determine how many have gone on the green, or maybe the motorist just isn’t that bright and needs a reminder.

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